Boot Camp Boost

Posted by: Gabe Goreham on: June 24, 2015

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One day several months ago, I met a man who would bring me hope. I didn’t completely recognize it when I met him, but his personality, dedication and his invitation to a special event would make all the difference in my mind set.

I was visiting my prosthetist’s office one afternoon for a routine visit, and Honestly, I wasn’t making much progress. My legs were changing shape a lot, and my sockets weren’t fitting well. Getting them on was just impossible. I’d get so worn out and sweaty spending more than a half-hour just trying to get my residual legs INTO the sockets, if I got to the point where I could stand in them at all, I’d be too wiped out to take many steps! And, inevitably, one would be slightly turned at a strange angle, and I’d have to start all over again.

Feeling disheartened, I was sliding off track in other areas of my life, too. I wanted to move forward, but I just couldn’t get going. Lucky for me, the day that was meant to be a routine (and probably disappointing) appointment, things turned out differently. I got to meet world famous prosthetic wizard Kevin Carroll, who came into the room for my appointment.

Mr. Carroll said many things to me in his British Isles accent. He was more of a sports coach than a doctor, and he seemed part “dad,” too. He told me I really needed to get out of my chair, stand tall for a good part of each day, and get moving on what’s left of my legs. He looked closely at my right residual leg, which is shorter than my left and plagues me with doubt a lot. He felt the uneven contours, poked and prodded the muscles that had been shredded, then surgically rearranged a few years ago.

Then looked at me and said, “You can do it, Gabe.”

Mr. Carroll showed me a video on his cell phone of a patient he was helping in another country to help me understand how I might be able to get into my sockets a little easier. Before the appointment was over, he said, “Gabe, I want to see you at Boot Camp this year!”

I thought – what kind of boot camp is he talking about? Well, fast forward to a few weeks ago, and there I was, one of a large group of double above-the-knee amputees from all over the world, gathered together for the annual ‘Bilateral AK Bootcamp’ at the Hanger Clinic in Oklahoma City.

We learned all about the latest approaches and options for living with no legs. But the best part of it all for me was to be part of a diverse group of amputees from all over the world. We all came from different cultures, economic and social lives, but this was the first time I was around so many people that have the same body like me, double amputations above the knee. What a strange but good feeling!

Because for a long time, I didn’t want to be defined by the shape of my body, post-accident. I wasn’t ready to be part of the “amputee world.” While I still don’t see myself as defined by my limitations, I am seeing the value of participating in the amputee community of people overcoming obstacles and living well, meeting the challenge as gracefully as possible, every single day.

Carroll and his crew took us through the steps to walking. Some people were on short prosthetic called ‘stubbies,’ some in full height prosthetics and everything in between. Everyone was encouraged to use the equipment that improves their lives, whatever that is for them.

On one of the days, we were taken to a shopping mall to practice walking in a real life situation. It was quite a scene to see at least 40 amputees from wheelchairs to prosthetics going through the mall as a big mob. We obviously got a lot of attention from unsuspecting shoppers, and we got to joke together a lot. People were falling and learning to walk up slopes and go down stairs and step on to escalators. It was the best part of boot camp for me, because one of my fears has been how I would feel being viewed by the public, as I struggle in my stubbies with an awkward gait, that I would be embarrassed or ashamed of myself.

Getting to see a big group of people that look a lot like me struggling but overcoming their fear and learning from their struggle has made me very excited and inspired to continue my own path to become a full time prosthetic user. I have realized the only thing holding me back has been me.

I was assigned to share a room with a man named Trevor, who was born without legs so he has been a full time prosthetic user basically his whole life. Seeing his level of comfort and the ease in which he functioned was truly inspiring and has given me a lot of hope as to the level of comfort i could have in using my prosthetics, over time. He even drove a normal car without hand controls, wearing his prosthetic feet and legs. I hope I can do that someday!

I am now working to get back into ‘stubbies,’ hoping I’ll soon be using them full time. While I wait for insurance approval for the special shrinkers I need to start the process, I am holding onto the inspiration and motivation I found at “Bilateral AK Bootcamp,” and transferring it into other parts of my life to move forward and continue to be UPRIGHT in every way.

Even though I often wish I didn’t have to lose my legs, I still get to feel fortunate, too. It is pretty amazing that Mr. Carroll personally invited me to participate in the boot camp. Did you know he was played by Morgan Freeman in a popular movie? I just saw it, and it’s actually really touching and entertaining. Since I have spent time with the REAL Kevin Carroll, it was amazing to see how Morgan Freeman acted out some of Carol’s actual characteristics, his attitudes and how he focuses on certain things when he’s engineering prosthetic solutions. The movie is a reenactment of the true story of how Mr. Carroll helped Winter, an injured dolphin who lost her fin in an accident to swim with a prosthetic flipper tail.

If you want to laugh, cry, be inspired and get an idea of what amputee victims and their families go through in an uplifting and fun family flick – definitely see Dolphin Tale!

If you want to meet Kevin Carroll, click on his Facebook Page.

I’m super grateful for Mr. Carroll, my fellow amps, and all the good people out there who still care.
Thanks so much for visiting GabesAlive.com.

Here’s to moving forward!

Gabe